This invention relates to composite containers having an integral plastic handle. The composite containers are comprised of at least two components which may be separated after use, for ease of recycling. An inner container is a lightweight plastic bottle, and an outer layer is a sleeve which provides some structural support to the inner container.
The use of plastic bottles with integral handles to facilitate the lifting and pouring of the bottle has been common place, and such bottles are used by almost every supplier of liquid consumer products. Methods of improving the design and shape of the handle have been sought.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,827, published on 18th Jan. 1983 is one such example of this. This patent describes a plastic handle located on one edge of a plastic bottle. However the handle does not form a continuous edge, and it states that a lightweight, extrusion blow molded bottle is difficult to make with a full, integral hollow handle because a parison of relatively large thickness is required.
The use of plastic bottles which are supported by an outer sleeve has been proposed before:
CA 474 542, published 19th Jun. 1951, is aimed at providing a container for safely storing chemical reagents, especially those reagents which attack glass. The patent describes a polyethylene bottle having ribs or lugs molded on the outer surface of the bottle side wall, and a substantially rigid band (eg. paperboard) held in position around the outside of the bottle by the ribs or lugs. It is foreseen that the rigid band will be used as a gripping surface, and no separate handle is disclosed. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,160,326, published on 8th Dec. 1964, describes a lightweight plastic bottle which is supported by an outer cardboard sleeve. A handle is provided by means of tongues cut into the cardboard sleeve which, when folded into a recess in the plastic bottle, may be gripped by the consumer. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,945, published on 8th Nov. 1988, provides a plastic bottle and carrier assembly adapted to facilitate recycling. The bottle carriers described in this patent are intended to be reusable, whereas the bottles themselves can be recycled. PA1 WO 91 00223, published on 10th Jan. 1991, describes a lightweight, plastic bottle which is supported by an outer cardboard sleeve. Cardboard tongues serve to form a handle and to lock the outer sleeve in position. It is preferred that the gripping part of the handle is formed exclusively from cardboard, and not from any part of the plastic bottle. PA1 DE 40 33 617, published on 30th Apr. 1992, also describes a lightweight, plastic bottle which is supported by an outer cardboard sleeve. In this patent application the gripping part of the handle is formed by a combination of both of the cardboard tongues and the plastic bottle.
It is the objective of the present invention to provide a composite container which facilitates the handling of the container by the consumer, in particular the lifting of the container by the consumer and pouring from the container.
It is a further objective of the present invention that it allows the consumer to take a firm and positive grip on the plastic of the container, unlike the prior art containers which gripping forces are transmitted through the outer sleeve to the inner container.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a composite container which may be readily recycled. In order to achieve this, the inner part of the container is made from a lightweight plastic, which is given further structural support by an outer sleeve which is made of paper, cardboard, etc.